Harrods has the better hi-fi section and quite fantastic toilets. Harvey Nicks has the better food hall, more creative window dressing and funkier advertising - witness the very fresh double-page spreads on the opposite page. Nice ideas delivered in a consistent and appropriate tone of voice. An extra plus is they don't feel like they've been art directed to death. Topper.
The other print campaign I've been sent is for Solo, which is a debit card. They're parodies of film posters so they're not very original. The result is a remarkably low rate of interest.
And so to Ready Brek; porridge hasn't been this entertaining since Larry's dad was in it. There are two helpings both based on the thought "you can't treat them like babies forever". If there's one small criticism it's that the high point of the ad is right at the front which leaves them just a little flat toward the end. Still, left me with a nice warm glow.
Ever feel like punching someone hard and repeatedly in the face after a tough day in the office? Or cutting off a limb, perhaps, using a Samurai sword? Well the good news is you can now do this without the need for a mandatory 20-year prison sentence. Simply buy Tekken 4 on PlayStation. What we have here are ads featuring nice middle-class people demonstrating their "inner nutter". They're just shy of brilliant, but good none the less.
There seems to be two kinds of financial advertising at the moment. Unintelligible or soft and dull. There are exceptions, but you could count them on the fingers of one mittened hand, until now that is.
Prudential has wisely decided to return to the last place that provided them with advertising everybody talked about. In a word, it's poetry, luv. There are half a dozen of them, all written by different poets and very lovely they are too. "Photographs" is my favourite, but they're all fresh, genuinely original for the category, nicely shot and brilliantly read.
To finish, there's some viral work for Ford based on the "get out more" thought. These are infinitely better than the TV spots. Put these on air and I might just stay in more.
Until next time.
PRUDENTIAL
Project: Brand campaign
Client: Roger Ramsden, marketing director
Brief: Bring some of the closeness and familiarity people felt for the
Man from the Pru back to life
Agency: WCRS
Writer: Stef Jones
Art director: Tom Burnay
Directors: Graham Fink, Steve Reeves, Ben & Joe Dempsey, Kirk Jones,
Matt Ryan, Simon Cracknell
Production companies: The Finktank, Another Film Company, Rose Hackney
Barber, Tomboy Films, Spectre, Stark Films
Exposure: National TV
SONY
Project: Tekken 4
Client: Alan Duncan, marketing manager
Brief: Tekken 4 gives you the chance to settle old scores
Agency: TBWA/London
Writer: Tara Ford
Art director: David Dao
Directors: Guy & Tim
Production company: Arden Sutherland-Dodd
Exposure: Satellite and national TV
WEETABIX
Project: Ready Brek
Client: Tony Corp, marketing controller
Brief: Return Ready Brek to its heartland - maternal warmth - by making
it relevant to today's mums
Agency: Banks Hoggins O'Shea/FCB
Writer: Bryn Attewell
Art director: Mark Robinson
Director: Mark Mylod
Production company: Tomboy Films
Exposure: National TV
FORD
Project: New Ford Fiesta
Client: Marco Santuccio, European small cars marketing manager
Brief: Extend the "get out more" campaign into viral
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather
Writer: Dale Winton
Art director: Hamish Pinnell
Director: Henry Littlechild
Production companies: Molehill, The Viral Factory
Exposure: Viral e-mail
HARVEY NICHOLS
Project: Brand campaign
Client: Julia Bowe, marketing director
Brief: Harvey Nichols is heaven for fashion addicts
Agency: BMP DDB
Writers: Amber Casey and James Sinclair
Art directors: Dan Hubert and Ed Morris
Typographer: Pete Mould
Photographer: Drew Jarrett
Exposure: Press
SWITCH
Project: Solo press
Client: Nigel Turner, director of marketing and strategy
Brief: Reassure the 14- to 17-year-old target audience that Solo is a
cool card to have and an acceptable way to pay for goods and services
Agency: Cdp-travissully
Writer: Luke Kelly
Art director: Mike Belton
Typographer: Richard Taylor
Photographers: Martin Hooper and Dan Tierney
Exposure: Teenagers' magazines
